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•Deactivation of CuSSZ13 by aging becomes more severe as the Cu/Al ratio increases.•Cu2+ ions are first exchanged on the sites on D6R (α) before those in the CHA cage (β).•The β/α ...ratio reveals a rising trend with increasing Cu/Al ratio.•Cu2+ ions on the CHA sites readily agglomerate leading to the formation of CuOx.•Collapse of SSZ13 due to CuOx is the primary cause for the hydrothermal deactivation.
The hydrothermal stability of CuSSZ13 catalysts with respect to their Cu/Al ratio has been investigated to understand the deactivation mechanism of their catalytic activity for NO reduction by NH3/SCR. The decline of the deNOx activity due to the hydrothermal aging became more severe as the Cu/Al ratio increased. Results of ESR, H2-TPR and DRIFT studies indicated that the D6R sites are occupied first by Cu2+ ions (α species) up to their accommodation capacity, followed by the occupation of the CHA sites (β species) with the increase in the Cu/Al ratio. The β species agglomerate more readily than α species due to their less stable nature, leading to the formation of CuOx. The CuOx may grow to destroy the zeolite cage and channel, resulting in the collapse of the SSZ13 structure, which is believed to be the primary cause for the hydrothermal deactivation of the CuSSZ13 catalyst.
The benefits of exercise for health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and depression in patients with gastrointestinal disease remain unclear, and studies on gastric cancer are scant. This study ...examines the association between the maintenance of regular aerobic exercise at a recommended level and depression and HRQOL in patients with gastric cancer during or after treatment. In this cross-sectional study, a face-to-face survey was used to collect data from 126 patients with primary gastric cancer during or after treatment in a tertiary acute-care hospital in Korea. Regular exercise was defined as regularly maintained aerobic exercise of at least moderate intensity consuming ≥4 metabolic equivalents for ≥150 min/wk for at least 6 months. Depression was measured using the 9-item version of the Patient Health Questionnaire, and HRQOL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30. Patients who maintained aerobic exercise at a recommended level were less likely to have depression and more likely to have improved global QOL, as well as physical, role, and emotional functioning. Patients with depression were less likely to report improved global QOL and functioning. Thus, exercise can have a synergistic effect on improvement in HRQOL via indirect positive effects on depression and direct effects on HRQOL in patients with gastric cancer. Oncology nurses should encourage patients with gastric cancer who suffer from a depressive mood to set up and implement specific plans for practicing regular exercise, which can lead to an improvement in both depression and HRQOL.
This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationships among sociodemographics, health literacy, self-efficacy, social support, health-promoting behavior, and health-related quality of life ...(HRQOL) in older adults. A total of 240 older adults aged >65 years were recruited from three community senior welfare centers in South Korea. Standardized self-administered questionnaires measuring sociodemographic characteristics, health literacy, social support, self-efficacy, health-promoting behavior, and health-related quality of life were distributed to older adults. Multiple regression analyses with stepwise selection was used to determine the factors affecting health-related quality of life. Factors affecting a higher physical component score of HRQOL were a higher comprehension level of and numeracy in health literacy, physical health-promoting behavior, perceived emotional-informational support, and a lesser number of comorbidities. Factors affecting a higher mental component score of HRQOL were a higher comprehension level of and numeracy in health literacy, self-efficacy, physical health-promoting behavior, perceived emotional-informational support, and a lesser number of comorbidities. To improve HRQOL among older adults, nursing interventions are required to measure health literacy, empower physical health-promoting behavior and self-efficacy, and enhance emotional-informational support from family or other resources.
This study analyzed the mediating effects of shoulder pain, disability, and depression on the relationship between stress and health-related quality of life among middle-aged women using a serial ...mediation model. Methods. Data on stress, health-related quality of life, shoulder pain, shoulder disability, and depression were collected from 565 women aged 35-64 years living in Seoul, South Korea, from May 13 to 23, 2021, using a self-reported, structured survey. SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 6) and serial mediation analysis were used to analyze the relationship between stress and health-related quality of life among participants, with shoulder pain, shoulder disability, and depression as mediators. Results. The results indicate that stress had a statistically direct impact on health-related quality of life. In the serial mediation analysis, shoulder pain, disability, and depression were found to be statistically significant, thus affecting the relationship between stress and health-related quality of life, with an explanatory power of 33%. Therefore, the relationship between stress and health-related quality of life was partially mediated by these variables. Conclusions. Thus, this study suggests the need for healthcare workers to develop methods, such as exercise intervention programs based on various degrees and types of physical activity, to improve health-related quality of life and reduce stress caused by shoulder pain, shoulder disability, and depression among middle-aged women.
Sleep quality is an important physical requirement for a healthy life, and good sleep quality has been recognized as a significant component in physical and mental health and well-being. The purpose ...of this study was to identify the factors that affect sleep quality as well as the relationship between sleep quality and neck pain, shoulder pain and disability, physical activity, and health perception.
We conducted surveys on 494 women between the age of 35 and 64 years. The study evaluated neck pain, shoulder pain and disability, physical activity, self-health perception and sleep quality with self-reported questionnaires in middle-aged women. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0.
The results showed that the more severe the neck pain and shoulder pain and disability, the worse the sleep quality was in middle-aged women and the better the health perception, the lower the sleep quality score was, indicating good sleep quality. Shoulder pain, self-perceived task difficulty, and health perception were identified as variables that affected the sleep quality in middle-aged women. The explanatory power of the model in explaining sleep quality was 22.9%.
Worsened shoulder pain, self-perceived task difficulty, and negative health perception can affect poor sleep quality; therefore, it is necessary to develop health interventions for pain management and emotional and social support for improving daily sleep quality. To improve the sleep quality in middle-aged women, healthcare workers should consider the subjects' pain and functional disability, in accordance with their health perception.
Previous studies of patients with liver cirrhosis have not considered the broad range of symptoms or the association between healthy behavior and quality of life. The purposes of this study were to ...examine the association between symptoms and adopting exercise and consuming fruits and vegetables and to identify factors associated with quality of life in patients with liver cirrhosis.
This cross-sectional study enrolled 91 consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis in one tertiary general hospital in South Korea between February 2016 and January 2017. Each study participant completed a self-administered questionnaire that measured symptom, stage of change in engaging in exercise and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and the Korean version of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis and multiple regression models was used, respectively, to examine the association between each symptom with stage of change in engaging in exercise and consumption of fruits and vegetables and to evaluate factors affecting quality of life.
Experiencing nausea was associated with more readiness for change in engaging in exercise, but experiencing shortness of breath was associated with less readiness for change in engaging in exercise. Experiencing right upper quadrant pain was associated with more readiness for change in engaging in consumption of fruits and vegetables. Muscle cramps, anorexia, right upper quadrant pain and body pain, itching, ascites or edema, bruising, and change in appearance negatively affected quality of life.
The results suggest that the types of symptoms experienced by a patient with liver cirrhosis hinder or promote the patient's adoption of exercise and dietary behavior. Experiencing symptoms may negatively affect quality of life. Caregivers should provide supportive care to patients with liver cirrhosis, which includes assessing and managing symptoms to improve quality of life.
The purpose of this study was to describe the symptoms experienced by patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), examine whether different symptom groups significantly affected different ...functioning domains in these patients, and determine the effect of the "lack of energy" and "pain" symptom groups on the different functioning domains of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). From a single tertiary institution, this cross-sectional study enrolled 135 consecutive NSCLC patients who were mostly undergoing chemotherapy and were in the advanced stage (National University Hospital, Daegu, South Korea). Clinical and self-reported demographic information and data on different functioning domains (from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30)), symptom experience (from the EORTC QLQ-LC13), and the Symptom Distress Scale (SDS) were examined. The four most common symptoms were fatigue (69%), pain (47%), dyspnea (38%), and lack of appetite (36%). The "pain" symptom group was negatively associated with physical, emotional, cognitive, and role functioning. The "lack of energy" symptom group was negatively associated with physical, role, emotional, social, and cognitive functioning. The "lack of energy" symptom group explained the most variance for physical and role functioning, and the "pain" symptom group explained the most variance for emotional functioning. Impaired concentration explained the most variance for cognitive functioning.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) preferentially differentiate to osteogenic lineage when cultured on mechanically stiff substrates. However, collagen sponges, clinically approved scaffolds for bone ...regeneration, provide soft microenvironment to MSCs. Here, we demonstrate that the covalent conjugation of mechanically stiff graphene oxide (GO) flakes to three-dimensional (3D) collagen scaffolds improves the mechanical properties of the scaffolds and promotes the osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs (hMSCs) cultured on the scaffolds. The covalent conjugation of GO flakes to collagen scaffolds increased the scaffold stiffness by 3-fold and did not cause cytotoxicity. hMSCs cultured on the GO-collagen scaffolds demonstrated significantly enhanced osteogenic differentiation compared to cells cultured on non-modified collagen scaffolds. The enhanced osteogenic differentiation observed on the stiffer scaffolds was likely mediated by MSC mechanosensing because molecules that are involved in cell adhesion to stiff substrates were either up-regulated or activated. The 3D GO-collagen scaffolds could offer a powerful platform for stem cell research and orthopedic regenerative medicine.
Abstract
Lineage tracing in mice indicates that
LGR5
is an adult stem cell marker in multiple organs, such as the intestine, stomach, hair follicles, ovary, and mammary glands. Despite many studies ...exploring the presence of
LGR5
cells in human tissues, little is known about its expression profile in either human mammary tissue or pathological lesions. In this study we aim to investigate
LGR5
expression in normal, benign, and malignant lesions of the human breast using RNA in situ hybridization.
LGR5
expression has not been observed in normal lactiferous ducts and terminal duct lobular units, whereas
LGR5
-positive cells have been specifically observed in the basal myoepithelium of ducts in the regenerative tissues, ductal carcinoma in situ, and in ducts surrounded by invasive cancer cells. These findings suggest
LGR5
marks facultative stem cells that are involved in post injury regeneration instead of homeostatic stem cells.
LGR5
positivity was found in 3% (9 of 278 cases) of invasive breast cancers (BC), and it showed positive associations with higher histologic grades (
P
= 0.001) and T stages (
P
< 0.001), while having negative correlations with estrogen receptor (
P
< 0.001) and progesterone receptor (
P
< 0.001) expression. Remarkably, all
LGR5
-positive BC, except one, belong to triple-negative BC (TNBC), representing 24% (9 of 38 cases) of all of them.
LGR5
histoscores have no correlations with EGFR, CK5/6, Ki-67, or P53 expression. Additionally, no β-catenin nuclear localization was observed in
LGR5
-positive BC, indicating that canonical Wnt pathway activation is less likely involved in
LGR5
expression in BC. Our results demonstrate that
LGR5
expression is induced in regenerative conditions in the myoepithelium of human mammary ducts and that its expression is only observed in TNBC subtype among all invasive BC. Further studies regarding the functional and prognostic impact of
LGR5
in TNBC are warranted.
This study aimed to determine the effect of mobile-based discussion versus computer-based discussion on self-directed learning readiness, academic motivation, learner-interface interaction, and flow ...state.
This randomized controlled trial was conducted at one university. Eighty-six nursing students who were able to use a computer, had home Internet access, and used a mobile phone were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to either the mobile phone app-based discussion group (n = 45) or a computer web-based discussion group (n = 41). The effect was measured at before and after an online discussion via self-reported surveys that addressed academic motivation, self-directed learning readiness, time distortion, learner-learner interaction, learner-interface interaction, and flow state.
The change in extrinsic motivation on identified regulation in the academic motivation (p = 0.011) as well as independence and ability to use basic study (p = 0.047) and positive orientation to the future in self-directed learning readiness (p = 0.021) from pre-intervention to post-intervention was significantly more positive in the mobile phone app-based group compared to the computer web-based discussion group. Interaction between learner and interface (p = 0.002), having clear goals (p = 0.012), and giving and receiving unambiguous feedback (p = 0.049) in flow state was significantly higher in the mobile phone app-based discussion group than it was in the computer web-based discussion group at post-test.
The mobile phone might offer more valuable learning opportunities for discussion teaching and learning methods in terms of self-directed learning readiness, academic motivation, learner-interface interaction, and the flow state of the learning process compared to the computer.
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